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Monday, August 15, 2011

On a More Serious Note

Saturday, I attended the funeral of my brother's granddaughter. She was 27 years old and left behind a loving husband and two beautiful daughters aged 6 and 4. She was taken far too soon in her life by a form of leukemia.

The church was filled with family and friends; many of whom were very close to her. There may have been others, like me, who had only met her on a couple of occasions and were not aware of the rich life she led. She was a teacher, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a sister-in-law, an aunt, and a granddaughter.

It was evident by the tears of those who had been close to her that she had indeed been dearly loved. As I left, I could not help but feel that another vital young life had been squelched by cancer. It is so wrong. My heart goes out to all who are battling this vicious, uncaring disease, and to those like my brother's granddaughter who have fought bravely and lost.

Somehow it seems impossible that so many millions of dollars have been raised for research, yet no real cure has been found. Inroads have been made, but we still lose far to many to this villain. I pray that a cure can be found so that occasions like Saturday will become non-existent, and that her family and the families of others who have lost loved ones will find some measure of comfort in time.

26 comments:

You are so right, Eva. So, so right! I work a few hours a week at a cancer hospital and have in some capacity for the last 11+ years. Cancer is ugly and mean. My heart has broken countless timeless times over it. I am so sad your brother lost his granddaughter and her family lost her. So heartbreaking. I will say a prayer for her family during this dark time.

Absolutely! It must be eradicated. It's so horrifying. Sorry to hear about your relative, that is so devastatingly sad. She was far too young for this nonsense. But then, everyone is too young to be torn away before their time.

Yesterday my sister would have turned 34. She died from lymphoma when she was 13. I'm truly sorry for your family's loss. I worry so much about the children that are left behind when parents pass on too soon. Sending my love your way.

I too lost a cousin to leukemia. He was in his early 30's, no symptoms, discovered at a physical for a new job. A handsome, strapping young man in the prime of life. His fiance had a horrible time accepting Bill's death, but instead of wallowing in self-pity, she quit her job, went back to school, and is now an RN treating cancer patients.

No one knows the why of it all. It's often times so random and always so heartbreaking, but we endure and hopefully those of us left behind for now become better people.